NHL Rumors: One Player from Each Team Who Should Be Traded

Every NHL team has one player who needs to go.  For whatever reason, this one athlete would be better off playing in a different town, for a different organization. 

The following list includes superstars and bench-warmers alike and everything in between.

As always, all of your comments are welcome.

Without further procrastination, one player from every NHL team who should be traded.  

Calgary Flames: Jarome Iginla

Is there a player more deserving of a Stanley Cup ring than Jarome Iginla?  I think not.  If for no other reason than to give Iggy a shot at the ultimate glory in hockey, the Flames should try to trade their superstar because that Flames squad is in serious trouble. 

The Flames could even use the multiple draft picks that they would most likely get in exchange for Iginla to rebuild their entire organization.

Minnesota Wild: Cal Clutterbuck

By no means is Cal Clutterbuck a bad player, but his play is rather lackluster.  He is still young at 23, so if the Wild were to try to deal Clutterbuck, they could certainly find a pleasing offer.

Colorado Avalanche: Peter Mueller

Like the Oilers, the Avalanche have gotten much younger and hungrier.  If not for his injury history, Mueller would most likely be an intricate part of the Colorado attack.  Mueller still has high potential which would make shopping him a worthwhile endeavor for the Avalanche.

Edmonton Oilers: Ales Hemsky

The Oilers have gotten younger and more talented which just may leave 28-year-old veteran Ales Hemsky out of the long-term picture.  When healthy, Hemsky is a threat whenever his skates touch the ice; however, his health always seems to be in question. 

If he can stay off the IR, Hemsky could provide a powerful offensive threat for a team lacking in the scoring department.

Vancouver Canucks: Cory Schneider

Cory Schneider has the ability to be a starting netminder.  Unfortunately, he is stuck behind proven All-Star Roberto Luongo.  The Canucks could get a very hefty return in exchange for Schneider’s services.  Schneider deserves a shot at being the feature goaltender for an NHL organization.  

San Jose Sharks: Michal Handzus

Handzus is 34 years old on a San Jose squad that is very deep up the middle.  Quite frankly, his services are not required, and he doesn’t see the ice all that much. 

Handzus is little more than dead weight for the highly-skilled Sharks.

Los Angeles Kings: Dustin Penner

The Kings acquired Dustin Penner at last season’s trade deadline hoping to bring more offense to their squad prior to the playoffs.  Penner did not deliver and continues to underachieve in the City of Angels in 2011-2012.  He just seems out of place playing for the Kings.

Phoenix Coyotes: Shane Doan

Like Iginla, Shane Doan deserves a shot to play for Lord Stanley’s cup at this stage in his career.  The Coyotes are a solid team, but it would be foolish to believe them to be serious cup contenders.  Trading Doan could give the long-time Phoenix captain a chance to seriously compete for a well-deserved championship.

Anaheim Ducks: Saku Koivu

Saku Koivu used to be an elite scorer with the Montreal Canadians before injuries derailed him.  Koivu plays a very insignificant role for the Ducks, but he certainly still possesses the talent to help out a team in need of secondary scoring if the Ducks were to deal him. 

Dallas Stars: Andrew Raycroft

Not so long ago, Andrew Raycroft was a budding star goalie for the Boston Bruins. Post-lockout and four teams later, Raycroft finds himself backing up starter Kari Lehtonen for the Dallas Stars.  Raycroft could get another shot at starting duties if he’s traded to a team with uncertainty in between the pipes.  

Detroit Red Wings: Daniel Cleary

Daniel Cleary is underappreciated because he is surrounded by a pool of talent including the likes of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg among others.  Cleary could play a much more integral offensive role and showcase his skill if he were part of a less-crowded squad.

Chicago Blackhawks: Viktor Stalberg

Viktor Stalberg is a solid all-around player and up-and-comer for the Chicago Blackhawks.  However, he is stuck in a very crowded lineup where he often finds himself scrapping for ice time on the third or fourth forward lines. 

An organization with less depth up front could give Stalberg more opportunity to produce and fulfill his potential, instead of wasting away at the bottom of a very talented lineup in Chicago. 

Nashville Predators: Patric Hornqvist

The Preds have relied on Hornqvist to produce offense for the last few seasons.  He has answered the call to a certain degree but has not produced enough to carry an anemic offense and has struggled as of late.  If Hornqvist was to be shipped out of Nashville, he would be worth a couple solid draft picks that the Predators could use to build up their weak forward corps.

St. Louis Blues: Andy McDonald

The Blues have recently rebuilt their roster in an effort to get younger.  At 34 years of age, McDonald doesn’t appear to be in the long-term plans for the Blues, especially with his most recent concussion setback just three games into the season. 

Columbus Blue Jackets: Kristian Huselius

Huselius has not played his best hockey while with the Columbus Blue Jackets.  On top of his decline in point production over the past few seasons, Huselius is currently battling a chest injury that has kept him on the sideline for the entirety of the 2011-2012 season with no sure end in sight. 

To make matters worse, Huselius is paid a princely sum of $4.75 million for the current season.  Columbus should seriously consider moving Huselius’ ridiculous contract as his health and play do not justify the money he makes.

Florida Panthers: David Booth

Hot off the presses, the trading of David Booth turned out to be a reality for the Panthers.  They got a good return for him in veterans Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm. 

Booth never developed into the franchise-type player that the Panthers brass hoped he would be, especially after suffering from a concussion during the 2009-2010 season.  It was simply time to move on for both David Booth and the Panthers' organization.

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler

A former fifth overall pick, Wheeler had a promising start to his career posting 45 points in his rookie year for the Boston Bruins.  He quickly declined from his impressive rookie campaign and was eventually shipped to the Atlanta Thrashers where he continued to struggle. 

The Jets are not getting the offensive production that they need from Wheeler, and it is obvious that they should shop him around the league.  He is still young at 25 years of age and holds some value in a good amount of potential, but Winnipeg does not seem to be the right organization for Wheeler.

Carolina Hurricanes: Tomas Kaberle

Kaberle is immensely talented but often makes ill-advised decisions.  He also all but disappeared during the Bruins’ Stanley Cup run last year. 

At this point, Kaberle should just keep changing scenery until he finally finds a team that gets the best out of him game in and game out because he is too talented to waste his time with lackluster, uninspired play.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Steve Downie

Steve Downie is caught in the middle of a very talented corps of Lightning forwards.  He brings a ton of energy to the game, and his style of play would be greatly valued by teams looking for an extra edge in their offensive attack.  Downie is actually a very skilled winger, but the sheer quantity of talent in Tampa Bay rarely allows him to shine as brightly as he could in a different situation.  

Washington Capitals: Jason Chimera

The Capitals would be wise to try to deal Chimera while his stock is up after his fiery start to the 2011-2012 season.  The Capitals are very deep at forward, adding a multitude of grit to their lineup with offseason acquisitions Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer. 

Given the depth of the Capitals’ forward contingent, Chimera is no longer an integral part of the grinder sector of the offense, and his services could bring a nice return to Washington. 

New York Islanders: Kyle Okposo

Last season, the Islanders made great strides towards becoming a force to be reckoned with after years of bottom-dwelling.  They feature a young core of players including the likes of All-Stars-in-the-making John Tavares and Michael Grabner. 

Unfortunately, Okposo was sidelined for much of last season and has battled injuries for most of his young career.  Okposo still has the potential to be a very good power forward in the NHL, but the frequency at which he is injured could make it worth the Islanders' while to move him for multiple draft picks to further embellish upon their already impressive core of youngsters.

New York Rangers: Wojtek Wolski

Since his trade from Phoenix to New York, Wolski has looked out of place and unable to find a permanent niche in coach Tortorella's lineup.  His inability to stay healthy also hurts his bid to be a top-line-caliber player.  Perhaps in a different organization and under a different system, Wolski could begin to fulfill the great potential that he has displayed in short flashes over his career.

New Jersey Devils: David Clarkson

David Clarkson is a hard-working, character guy.  However, his intangibles do not sufficiently make up for his lack of production of late for the Devils.  He is young enough and skilled enough to warrant a decent return for a New Jersey team that could certainly put future draft picks to good use.

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Hartnell

It's easy to see why Hartnell is a fan favorite.  He's big, strong, scrappy and pops in his fair share of goals.  However, that Hartnell is paid $4.2 million for his services is nothing short of a crime. 

There is no doubt that Hartnell is an excellent role player, but his contract is outrageous, especially when he eats up more cap space than the Flyers' best player Claude Giroux. 

Let us not forget that Hartnell is also notorious for making relatively boneheaded-on-ice decisions from time to time.  Flyers GM, Paul Holmgren, should do everything in his power to move Hartnell, if for nothing else, for his contract. 

Pittsburgh Penguins: Steve Sullivan

It seems like Sullivan was brought to the Penguins to provide some temporary source of offense while Sidney Crosby continues to battle post-concussion syndrome, and Evgeni Malkin deals with his myriad of injuries. 

Unfortunately for Sullivan, the Penguins are very deep at left wing where Chris Kunitz continues to develop into a solid two-way player, Matt Cook is reinventing his game and James Neal is collecting goals like a squirrel collects acorns. 

Once Crosby and Malkin are back in action, the Penguins would be wise to trade Sullivan for a mid to late-round draft pick, because he just doesn't contribute enough to play a significant role on this particular squad.

Montreal Canadiens: Andrei Kostitsyn

Andre Kostitsyn is a very solid, gritty player for the Canadians.  The issue with Kostitsyn, however, is his contract.  A player with a cap hit of $3.25 million, a salary similar to that of Claude Giroux's, should be producing at a much higher level than Kostitsyn has over the past few seasons. 

Kostitstyn is valuable enough to possibly warrant a couple of solid draft picks were the Canadians to ever attempt to move him, which would be an excellent return for someone of his talent level.

Ottawa Senators: Jason Spezza

Jason Spezza is one of the premier playmakers in the NHL. Despite numerous injuries over the years, the 28-year-old star has amassed 543 points in 534 career games.  Unfortunately for Spezza, his organization seems to be going nowhere fast and is entering a rebuilding period.

Spezza could serve as an offensive spark for an organization parched for scoring and looking to contend in the playoffs, and the return for his services would be exceptional, certainly warranting multiple high-round draft picks.  A plethora of draft picks in exchange for Spezza would fit well in an Ottawa organization stocking up on youth for the future.

Buffalo Sabres: Brad Boyes

Boyes is a highly skilled player in a difficult situation with the Buffalo Sabres.  Once upon a time Boyes potted 77 goals in two seasons with the St. Louis Blues.  Now, Boyes is often lost in a young, talented and crowded group of forwards in Buffalo. 

Boyes carries significant trade value at 29 years old so the Sabres could get a good return in exchange for his services.  Boyes possesses the ability to return to the upper echelons of goal scoring in the NHL if he is indeed traded to a team with a thinner pool of talent in need of scoring depth. 

Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Komisarek

Komisarek simply has not performed well for the Maple Leafs during his two, going on three-year tenure with the organization.  Earlier in his career, with the Montreal Canadians, Komisarek made his money as a gritty shot-blocker, but now, he seems to have gotten away from what made him so valuable a few years ago. 

A change in scenery may be exactly what the doctor orders for Komisarek, by giving him an opportunity to start fresh in a new organization and get back to his nose-to-the-grindstone style of defense.

Boston Bruins: Benoit Pouliot

If ever there was a bust, Benoit Pouliot is it.  After the Minnesota Wild took Pouliot with the fourth overall pick in 2005 NHL entry draft, Pouliot failed to produce at the level he was expected, only tallying 11 points in his first 37 games with the Wild during the 2008-2009 season before being sent to the minors. 

Now, after a brief two-season stint with Montreal, Pouliot finds himself in a very crowded crop of forwards with the reigning Stanley Cup champions.  The Bruins really have no need to keep Pouliot around as they are deep at forward to begin with, and Pouliot doesn't add anything significant to the offensive effort to justify his spot in the lineup.